The inventors of this invention have previously conducted research into the method and device for determining biological substances, such as base sequences of genes, and developed various kinds of devices for an accommodation-reaction-measurement process. Because of its effectiveness in reducing the amount of use of samples containing detection biological substances and the amount of labeled object biological substances, an accommodation-reaction-measurement method using a probe comprising a combination of a pipettelike container and a sample assembly is finding a widening range of applications. The probe used in the accommodation-reaction-measurement method includes, for example, one that has accommodated in a light-transmitting narrow tube a rodlike base member, to the surface of which a large number of samples are attached at equal intervals in a longitudinal direction of the base member, or one that has a sample assembly accommodated in a pipettelike container, the sample assembly comprising a threadlike sample support, to the surface of which a large number of samples are attached at equal intervals in a longitudinal direction of the support, and a rodlike core around which the sample support is spirally wound. (Patent document 1, 2 and 3).
In the accommodation-reaction-measurement method using the probe, the lower end of the probe is inserted into a container accommodating liquids suspending a labeled biological substance to draw the liquid into the probe until the liquid soaks an entire sample support winding portion (or simply referred to as a core) of the sample assembly, thereby bonding the detection biological substance adhering to the sample support to a binding material in the labeled biological substance.
After this, the labeled biological substance suspending liquid drawn in from the lower end of the probe is discharged. Then a cleansing liquid is drawn into and discharged from the pipette to clean the interior of the pipette and wash out a residue of the labeled biological substance suspending liquid.
After cleaning, a measuring liquid is drawn into the pipette which is then set in an accommodation-reaction-measurement device. The pipette is radiated with an ultraviolet light from outside the probe to cause a fluorescent material to emit light at a position where the detection biological substance binds with the binding material in the labeled biological substance. The illuminating positions on the entire core are measured by a light receiving portion and, from each of the detected illuminating positions, the binding material in the labeled biological substance is determined. Based on a combination of all the detected binding materials, a target substance is determined.
For example, with a sample assembly 2 accommodated in the pipette 1 as shown in FIG. 45, a core 2a of the sample assembly 2 is situated at the lower end of a large-diameter portion of the pipette 1 so that it can easily contact the liquid drawn in from a small-diameter portion 1b. For this purpose, a cap 2b at the front end of the core 2a is formed to engage a throttled portion at a boundary between the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion 1b of the pipette 1. And a cylindrical handle 2c, over which a front end of a jig (not shown) is sleeved to push the sample assembly 2 down to the throttled portion, is formed smaller in diameter than the core 2a so that it protrudes coaxially from the base of the sample assembly 2.
Such a sample assembly 2 is made by using a spotting device 4 shown in FIG. 46, i.e., by attaching sample containing liquids to a large number of locations at one time on a threadlike sample support wound on a platelike sample support carrier 3 (sample support is not shown because it is too fine to recognize) and then by spirally winding the sample support attached with the samples around the core 2a. 
The spotting device 4 used, as shown in FIG. 46, has an almost square delivery portion 5 assembled onto a movable portion 4c secured at the top of guide posts 4b, . . . , 4b by a plurality of springs 4a, . . . , 4a. Installed immediately below the delivery portion 5 are a cassette 6 comprising the sample assembly 2 and the platelike sample support carrier 3 wound with the sample support and a microplatelike vessel 7 mounted on the cassette 6 and having a large number of wells 7a, . . . , 7a. 
In this spotting device 4, sample suspending liquids to be applied to the sample support are accommodated in the wells 7a, . . . , 7a of the vessel 7 in advance, which is placed on the cassette 6 located at a predetermined position. The movable portion 4c mounted with the delivery portion 5 is pushed down against the spring force to insert dip ends protruding from the underside of the delivery portion 5 (not shown, referred to as pins) into the wells 7a, . . . , 7a to bring them into contact with the liquids. After it is confirmed that each pin of the delivery portion 5 has been dipped in the associated liquid, the movable portion 4c is lifted by the spring force to the original position.
With the delivery portion 5 lifted, the vessel 7 is taken out from the top of the cassette 6 and then the movable portion 4c is pushed down again against the spring force to lower the pins protruding from the underside of the delivery portion 5 onto the sample support carrier 3 assembled on the cassette 6. These pins come into contact with the sample support wound around the sample support carrier 3, transferring the liquids adhering to the lower ends of the pins onto the sample support side.
Then, the movable portion 4c is lifted by the spring force to the initial position. Now, the sample support wound on one side of the sample support carrier 3 is attached with samples and can be taken out.
When samples are applied to the sample support situated on the opposite side of the sample support carrier 3, the process involves arranging the sample assembly 2 at the same position but with its front and back reversed and repeating the above procedure.
After the samples have been applied to and fixed in the sample support wound on the sample support carrier 3, the sample support is taken up from the sample support carrier 3 and wound around the core 2a to form the sample assembly 2. This state represents the sample assembly 2 before being put into the pipette 1.
This sample assembly 2 is taken out of the cassette 6 and put into the pipette 1 from its front end side, thus forming a probe used in an accommodation-reaction-measurement process to determine an object biological substance (patent document 4).    Patent document 1: WO02/045842 A1    Patent document 2: WO99/003341    Patent document 3: SO02/063300 A1    Patent document 4: Patent application No. 2003-177228
In the conventional devices, various sample suspending liquids for spotting are accommodated in microplates of global standard—a 48-hole microplate (6 rows×8 columns), a 96-hole microplate (8 rows×12 columns at 9-mm pitch), a 384-hole microplate (16 rows×24 columns at 4.5-mm pitch) and a 1536-hole microplate (32 rows×48 columns at 2.25-mm pitch).
Since the size of the vessel 7 is fixed, the interval at which the samples are arrayed on the sample support by inserting the pins into the wells 7a, . . . , 7a to dip them in the sample suspending liquids is determined by the number of pins. And the length of the sample support and the size of the sample assembly 2 also increase with these dimensions. Because the size of the sample assembly 2 and the size of the pipette 1 accommodating the sample assembly 2 are determined by the number of holes in the microplate, the probe cannot be reduced in size freely.
Further, since the size of the vessel 7 is fixed, the sample array positions cannot be increased nor is it possible to enhance the density of the sample arrangement.
Further, since the size of the sample assembly 2 and the pipette 1 cannot be changed, the amount of liquid to soak the core 2a of the sample assembly 2, for example, also increases and cannot be reduced. If the same concentrations are used, a greater amount of sample is required in each liquid.
Since the size of the measuring device also increases with the size of the sample assembly 2 and the pipette 1, the cost of measurement increases.
Further, when spirally winding the sample support around the core 2a of the sample assembly 2, it must be wound uniformly on the core 2a. It is however difficult to wind it as uniformly as desired because of slack and slipping of the sample support during winding.
Because of these, the accommodation-reaction-measurement method has a drawback of increased cost in terms of the manufacturing equipment, measuring device and other materials for the sample assembly 2.